Cornerback

The Eagles claimed cornerback Shaun Prater off waivers from the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday and designated cornerback Curtis Marsh, a 2011 third-round pick who had been sidelined with a broken hand, as waived/injured. The Eagles needed help at cornerback, although Prater arrives without ever having played in an NFL game. The 23-year-old Iowa product was a fifth-round draft choice by the Bengals in 2012 but missed all of last season with a knee injury suffered in training camp. Prater is 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds and earned all-Big Ten honors at Iowa as a junior and senior.

Imhotep Charter's Najee Goode, a speedy cornerback and kick returner, has committed to play at the University of Maine. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound senior took an official visit to the school last weekend. "I really had a good relationship with the coaching staff," he said. "I like the location. I'll be away from the city and able to just focus on football and academics. " Goode, who lives near 24th and Diamond Streets in North Philadelphia, also received interest from Ball State, Buffalo, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Old Dominion, and Towson.

Nolan Carroll's climb to the top of the cornerback depth chart shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who watched him break up pass after pass last spring. Despite a strong period that carried into training camp, Carroll fell short of supplanting incumbent starters Bradley Fletcher and Cary Williams last season. In retrospect, giving Fletcher the nod over Carroll may have been the most costly decision of the Eagles' playoff-less 2014. The starting position opposite prized free agent Byron Maxwell is clearly open this year, and through the first month of spring workouts, Carroll has made it difficult for defensive coordinator Bill Davis to overlook him again.

Penn State football said hello Friday to a recruit who has committed to the Nittany Lions' freshman class of 2013 and goodbye to a cornerback, a move that leaves the program dangerously thin at the position. Zayd Issah, a 6-foot-3, 209-pound linebacker from Central Dauphin High School in Harrisburg, told multiple recruiting websites that he had told Penn State coaches of his intent to play in Happy Valley. Later Friday, Penn State head coach Bill O'Brien tweeted that junior cornerback Derrick Thomas, who had been considered a contender to become a starter, "has left the team for personal reasons.

The Eagles announced yesterday that cornerback JaCorey Shepherd, their sixth-round draft choice from Kansas, has agreed to terms with the club on a four-year contract. Quick signings of draft choices are some of the results of recent NFL collective bargaining agreements, which leave teams with a set amount of money they can spend on rookies, based upon their draft position. Gone, for the most part, are the days of long summer holdouts. Shepherd's signing leaves only one unsigned pick from this year's draft class: linebacker Jordan Hicks, their third-round choice from Texas.

ALAMEDA, Calif. - The Oakland Raiders completed their offseason overhaul of the cornerback unit Monday by signing recent Eagles castoff Joselio Hanson and cutting 2011 third-round pick DeMarcus Van Dyke. Hanson was cut last week after six seasons as the Eagles' nickel cornerback. "He's been a guy that's played a lot of years in the league in the slot and we just felt like it was a good thing to get another veteran guy in there with what really amounts to a young room," coach Dennis Allen said.

Brandon Boykin checked Twitter on Friday afternoon and noticed a stream of congratulatory messages. The Eagles rookie cornerback was confused. He checked for news updates and saw that veteran Joselio Hanson had been released. Ten minutes later, Boykin's phone rang. It was Hanson, who shared the information and wished Boykin luck. They had a brief conversation, and Boykin embarked on a season as the Eagles top nickel cornerback. The Eagles' decision to release Hanson, who spent six seasons in Philadelphia, cemented Boykin's status.

PHOENIX - Byron Maxwell was the only member of the "Legion of Boom" who did not get one of the Seahawks' 15 podium spots on Super Bowl media day. Maxwell's roaming among Seattle's role players on the overcrowded floor of US Airways Center seemed beneath a player who could potentially be one of the more sought-after free agents in the offseason. Such is life for the junior member of the Seahawks' starting secondary, but the soft-spoken cornerback said he didn't care. "To be honest with you, I'll [stay]

Chip Kelly has remained discreet about his requirements for certain positions, but not cornerback. Since arriving in Philadelphia, Kelly's search for tall, long, physical cornerbacks has not been a secret. "Obviously we'd like all our corners to be 6-2-plus and long and that's the ideal world," Kelly said in November. "There's not a ton of them out there. " The NFL draft starts Thursday, and it's an opportune time to find a cornerback who fits the Eagles' prototype. Although talent is ultimately what will sway the Eagles to pick a player, look for the Eagles to target cornerbacks who are at least 6 feet tall with long arms.

CURTIS MARSH, Trevard Lindley, Jack Ikegwuonu, Rashad Barksdale, Macho Harris. The ongoing disaster at the safety position gets more attention, but Brandon Boykin, taken in the fourth round in 2012, is the only cornerback the Eagles have drafted since 2002 who has made a significant contribution to the team. In 2002, the Birds drafted Lito Sheppard in the first round and Sheldon Brown in the second, so, that season, they had Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor as their starters, Al Harris for the nickel, and Sheppard and Brown just in case.

Nolan Carroll's climb to the top of the cornerback depth chart shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who watched him break up pass after pass last spring. Despite a strong period that carried into training camp, Carroll fell short of supplanting incumbent starters Bradley Fletcher and Cary Williams last season. In retrospect, giving Fletcher the nod over Carroll may have been the most costly decision of the Eagles' playoff-less 2014. The starting position opposite prized free agent Byron Maxwell is clearly open this year, and through the first month of spring workouts, Carroll has made it difficult for defensive coordinator Bill Davis to overlook him again.

The way the Eagles defensive secondary performed in two seasons under head coach Chip Kelly and defensive coordinator Bill Davis, it was understood that big changes were warranted heading into a third season. In 2013, the Eagles ranked 32d in net passing yards allowed per game, and in 2014, they were ranked 31st. Having seen enough of that, Kelly let three-quarters of the starting secondary leave in free agency, brought in cornerback Byron Maxwell from Seattle and also added Walter Thurmond, an oft-injured cornerback who is being retrofitted as a safety alongside holdover Malcolm Jenkins.

Walter Thurmond received an offer from Eagles coaches four weeks ago. He could stay at cornerback, where he has played his entire five-year career, and compete at a position that became crowded this offseason. Or he could move to safety, where the Eagles' glaring need has been ignored. The decision was left to Thurmond. He is now a safety. "I chose to go to the safety because of the defense we play - there's going to be a lot of opportunities to make plays on the ball," Thurmond said.

The Eagles announced yesterday that cornerback JaCorey Shepherd, their sixth-round draft choice from Kansas, has agreed to terms with the club on a four-year contract. Quick signings of draft choices are some of the results of recent NFL collective bargaining agreements, which leave teams with a set amount of money they can spend on rookies, based upon their draft position. Gone, for the most part, are the days of long summer holdouts. Shepherd's signing leaves only one unsigned pick from this year's draft class: linebacker Jordan Hicks, their third-round choice from Texas.

The Eagles' top two picks lined up against each other on the first day of rookie minicamp on Friday, with second-round defensive back Eric Rowe covering first-round wide receiver Nelson Agholor during drills. This was notable not only because the two players are expected to be contributors this year, but also because Rowe played cornerback. When the two were last on a field together, Agholor played wide receiver for Southern California and Rowe played safety at Utah. Rowe, who has the ability to play both safety and cornerback, is starting his Eagles career at cornerback.

JaCOREY SHEPHERD hasn't experienced the thrill of victory much. The Eagles' rookie cornerback spent the last four years playing football for everybody's favorite homecoming opponent, the University of Kansas. In those four years, the Jayhawks won a grand total of nine games. Nine. He played for three head coaches in those four years - Turner Gill (who recruited him), Charlie Weis and Clint Bowen, who replaced Weis four games into Shepherd's senior season. "It was tough," Shepherd said.

Chip Kelly started the second day of the NFL draft with his focus on defensive back Eric Rowe. After Byron Jones went in the first round on Thursday, Rowe was the player they targeted for one of their biggest needs on Friday. Kelly waited through the beginning of the second round. With the Eagles not selecting until the No. 52 overall pick, he did not want to wait any longer. The Eagles traded with the Miami Dolphins to select Rowe at No. 47, surrendering both their fifth-round picks to move up five spots in the second round.

It had been 13 years since the Eagles drafted a cornerback as high as they did when Eric Rowe was chosen in the second round of the NFL draft on Friday night. And in the time since they chose Lito Sheppard in the 2002 first round, the league has changed significantly. Sheppard was generously listed at 5-foot-10, 194 pounds. Rowe is 6-1, 205 pounds. Sheppard, a two-time Pro Bowler, was a successful pick for then-coach Andy Reid, but he probably wouldn't be considered a first-round prospect in today's NFL, and certainly not by Chip Kelly.

CHICAGO - On one part of the field, LSU offensive tackle La'el Collins refused to answer questions regarding the murder of a former girlfriend, and specifically the further police-questioning that predicated his leaving for Louisiana later in the afternoon. On another part, Missouri defensive end Shane Ray - who reportedly failed a drug test in college - was apologizing repeatedly, sincerely, desperately, for being cited for marijuana possession after being pulled over for speeding on Monday.